When Anne Arundel police seized 158 grams of kratom, a plant from
Southeast Asia used medicinally for centuries, it was the first time
it was seized in a county investigation, according to police.

Officers arrested Michaela Elizabeth Gran, 21, and Chase Seven Gran,
23, both of Glen Burnie, on Tuesday after they said the two were found
with small amounts of narcotics as well as the 158 grams of kratom.
Its seizure caused some confusion, as the drug is legal in Maryland
and can be bought for $1 for a pill-sized capsule in local smoke
shops. That, and how many people have ever heard of kratom?

Medical marijuana is now available in Maryland. Here's what you need
to know about it.

Medical marijuana is now available in Maryland, more than four years
after the General Assembly passed a law legalizing it.

Standing up the industry -- with growers, processors, dispensaries and
doctors -- took longer than expected. The law needed to be tweaked,
rules needed to be written and legal battles needed to be fought over
who won licenses.

Maryland began the sale of medical marijuana to residents in pain on
Friday, ending years of delays by embarking on a program that features
some of the most liberal policies in the nation on who can qualify for
the prescribed cannabis.

Dozens of people stood outside a licensed dispensary in Montgomery
County, Potomac Holistics, where owners began making sales soon after
receiving their first shipment Friday afternoon.

"You can tell there's a buzz, and we're excited for so many reasons,"
Askinazi said. "We're giving care to people who need it."

At Philip Tulkoff's food-processing plant in Baltimore, machines grind
tough horseradish roots into puree. "If you put your arm in the wrong
place," the owner says, "and you're not paying attention, it's going
to pull you in." It's not a good place to be intoxicated.

Drug abuse in the workforce is a growing challenge for American
business. While economists have paid more attention to the opioid
epidemic's role in keeping people out of work, about two-thirds of
those who report misusing pain-relievers are on the payroll. In the
factory or office, such employees can be a drag on productivity, one
of the U.S. economy's sore spots. In the worst case, they can endanger
themselves and their colleagues.

Hampden and Wyman Park residents took their concerns about a proposed
medical cannabis dispensary to City Hall on Wednesday, as Baltimore
City Council members weigh whether to put zoning restrictions on the
businesses.

In Baltimore -- as well as other jurisdictions -- some residents have
been surprised to learn about proposals for the dispensaries. Just one
dispensary in the state has earned a final state license, but dozens
more across the state have preliminary licenses they hope to finalize
in the coming months.

Maryland's medical marijuana regulators approved final licenses for
eight growing companies on Monday, allowing them to start cultivating
the drug.

Several companies said they are ready to begin growing immediately,
while others say they will take weeks to get started.

"Now, we have a real industry," said Cary Millstein, CEO of newly
licensed grower Freestate Wellness in Howard County.

Until Monday, just one of the 15 selected firms had received final
permission to start cultivating medical marijuana, which was first
legalized in the state in 2013. Even at full capacity, one firm could
not produce nearly enough to support 102 planned dispensaries.

Police and prosecutors in Baltimore have launched investigations after
being alerted to body camera footage that the public defender's office
says shows an officer planting drugs.

One officer has been suspended and two others have been placed on
administrative duty, police said. Police said they have not reached
any conclusions as to the conduct depicted in the video. Other cases
in which the officers are involved are now under review as well,
police and prosecutors said.

The public defender's office, which released the footage, said it was
recorded by an officer during a drug arrest in January. It shows the
officer placing a soup can, which holds a plastic bag, into a
trash-strewn lot.

After a year of having an opioid antidote in middle and high schools
in Carroll County, a new state law requires that the medicine be
available at the elementary school level, too.

The Start Talking Maryland Act, which lays out now-required opioid
education at least once at all schooling levels, also requires all
schools to carry naloxone, the opioid overdose antidote.

Filipa Gomes, supervisor of Health Services for Carroll County Public
Schools, said in addition to the extra naloxone, Carroll County Public
Schools staff are training more people how to administer the antidote.

When talking about fighting drug addiction, Baltimore Mayor Catherine
Pugh likes to pose a question: "If you had a child who was on drugs,
would you treat them in the neighborhood in which they were drug addicted?"

Then she answers, as she did at a news conference last week: "I would
think that your answer would be 'no,' you'd put them on a plane to
Timbuktu or somewhere."

Pugh has publicly used the formulation twice in recent weeks as she
calls for the city to rethink how it works to treat the estimated
7,000 of its 24,000 opioid users who are not currently getting help.
She says she agrees with the growing consensus that addiction should
be viewed as a health problem rather than a criminal one. But she
argues treatment needs to be shifted away from neighborhoods -- where,
she says, patients have a worse chance of getting better, and where
clinics become magnets for drug dealers.

The commission is charged with implementing Maryland's medical
cannabis program. The appointments include doctors, business people
and several members of law enforcement.

The appointments are:

* Charles P. LoDico, a chemist and toxicologist for the Department of
Health and Human Services. His appointment fills a vacancy for a
scientist with experience in cannabis.

* Barry G. Pope, a clinical pharmacist for Conduent State Healthcare
LLC. He has been a registered pharmacist for 20 years. Pope was
recommended for this appointment by the Maryland Pharmacists
Association, and fills a vacancy for a licensed pharmacist on the
commission.

Even for seasoned health care workers, it can be unnerving to hear
"emergency in the parking lot" over the loudspeaker. There, we found
an 18-year-old man lying lifeless on the asphalt and not breathing.
Before I could utter the words, an astute nurse immediately ordered
that the patient be given Naloxone as she correctly recognized that
this patient was suffering from an opioid overdose. Soon, the patient
began to breathe spontaneously, effectively coming back to life.

This story could be used to celebrate the marvels of medicine and the
skill of our health care workforce. However, this story does not have
a happy ending.

In the ongoing battle to stem the heroin and opiate epidemic in
Maryland, the newest focus is a state law that mandates teaching
students in elementary schools through college about the dangers of
the drugs.

Public schools are tweaking drug-education lessons and colleges are
preparing sessions for incoming students to comply with the Start
Talking Maryland Act, which becomes law July 1.

The act, passed by state lawmakers and signed by Gov. Larry Hogan
earlier this year, requires public schools to offer drug-education
that includes the dangers of heroin and opiates starting in elementary
school.

BALTIMORE - As more states relax their approach to marijuana, police
departments are rethinking how many hits are too many for aspiring
officers.

Maryland just passed a new standard, set to take effect in the state
June 1, that bars applicants if they smoked pot in the past three
years, the same policy used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The longstanding, previous policy had ruled out those who had used
marijuana at least 20 times or at least five times since age 21.

Family members of those who died of opioid overdoses embrace at the "Fed
Up!" rally to end the opioid epidemic on September 18, 2016 in Washington,
DC. Some 30,000 people die each year due to addiction to heroin and other
opioids.

Family members of those who died of opioid overdoses embrace at the "Fed
Up!" rally to end the opioid epidemic on September 18, 2016 in Washington,
DC. Some 30,000 people die each year due to addiction to heroin and other
opioids. (John Moore)

A bipartisan push to reduce the number of low-level drug offenders in
prison is gaining momentum in Congress, but proposals may disappoint
advocates hoping to slash the mandatory minimum sentences that are seen as
chiefly responsible for overcrowding in the nation's detention facilities.

House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) surprised advocates Thursday by
saying he strongly supported holding a vote on a prison reform bill
similar to one sponsored by Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, a moderate Republican
from Wisconsin. The measure has been languishing in the House Judiciary
Committee.

The Obama administration has decided marijuana will remain on the list of
most-dangerous drugs, fully rebuffing growing support across the country
for broad legalization, but said it will allow more research into its
medical uses.

The decision to expand research into marijuana's medical potential could
pave the way for the drug to be moved to a lesser category. Heroin, peyote
and marijuana, among others, are considered Schedule I drugs because they
have no medical application; cocaine and opiates, for example, have
medical uses and, while still illegal for recreational use, are designated
Schedule II drugs.

A new report says the precise health effects of marijuana on its users
remain something of a mystery. (Jan. 13, 2017)

More than 22 million Americans use some form of marijuana each month, and
it's now approved for medicinal or recreational use in 28 states plus the
District of Columbia. Nationwide, legal sales of the drug reached an
estimated $7.1 billion last year.

Yet for all its ubiquity, a comprehensive new report says the precise
health effects of marijuana on those who use it remain something of a
mystery -- and the federal government continues to erect major barriers to
research that would provide much-needed answers.

A Maryland state lawmaker who came under scrutiny for his ties to a
medical marijuana business while working on legislation shaping the
industry has been removed from the health committee that oversees such
bills.

Del. Dan Morhaim (D-Baltimore County), a physician, will serve on the
judiciary committee in the 90-day legislative session starting
Wednesday, following 13 years on the Health and Government Operations
Committee.

House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) announced the change
Monday when he released committee assignments.

The opioid dilemma puts pressure on every physician to pause and reflect.
Physician anesthesiologists are dedicated to providing pain relief in the
safest manner possible, which includes prescribing and managing opioid
therapy when medical conditions warrant. What we face now is too many
tragic instances of patients emerging from pain treatment regimens only to
see their lives destroyed later through addiction.

Opioids include illegal heroin and prescription "pain killers" such as
oxycodone, and the impact of these drugs is clear in Maryland and
elsewhere. The numbers of opioid-related deaths statewide increased 23
percent between 2014 and 2015, and have more than doubled since 2010,
according to the latest Maryland health department report released this
fall.

[photo]
SAFED, ISRAEL -- A worker at a cannabis greenhouse at the growing facility
of the Tikun Olam company near the northern city of Safed, Israel. (Uriel
Sinai / Baltimore Sun)

Two Silver Spring-based entrepreneurs said Monday they hope to open a
medical marijuana growing and processing plant in Baltimore.

Healthy Choice Alternative LLC is in the process of applying for one of up
to 15 cultivation licenses as well as a processors license from the state
under Maryland's medical marijuana program, an attorney for the company
said.

The phone at Bruce Brandler's home rang at 3:37 a.m. It was the local
hospital. His 16-year-old son was there, and he was in really bad shape.

A suspected heroin overdose, the nurse said.

Brandler didn't believe it. Erik had his problems, but heroin? It seemed
impossible.

Nearly 10 years later, the nation is gripped by a spiraling crisis of
opioid and heroin abuse -- and Brandler, a veteran federal prosecutor
recently promoted to interim U.S. attorney, suddenly finds himself in a
position to do something about the scourge that claimed his youngest son's
life.

In a year when budget cuts dominate debate in Annapolis, advocates for
legalizing marijuana are mounting a renewed effort to get Maryland to
follow the lead of Colorado and Washington state - if not now, then in a
year or two.

A Colorado state legislator and an elected official from Seattle joined
legalization supporters at a press conference in Annapolis Friday to say
that voter-passed initiatives in their states are proceeding more or less
smoothly to treat recreational use of cannabis much like another legal but
regulated substance, alcohol.

[photo] Maryland's medical marijuana program cleared a key hurdle Thursday
as a state panel approved draft rules to govern the new businesses. (Erin
Cox/Baltimore Sun)

Maryland's medical marijuana program cleared a key hurdle Thursday as a
state panel approved draft rules to govern the new businesses.

The medical marijuana commission set license fees for growers and
dispensaries -- at rates among the highest in the country -- and developed
rules for patients to obtain the drug in either a smokable or liquid form,
among other new regulations.

Among Baltimore residents, 68 percent said they had been affected by
opioid epidemic.

A new poll found 41 percent of Maryland residents said the escalating
opioid epidemic has directly affected them or someone they know over the
past five years.

Another 42 percent who participated in the Gonzales Poll said they had not
personally felt the impact of the deadly wave of heroin and other
overdoses that has swept through urban and rural parts of Maryland.
Seventeen percent gave no response. Among Baltimore city residents, 68
percent said they had been affected -- far more than anywhere else in
Maryland.

Drug-overdose deaths surged to new levels in Maryland during the first
nine months of 2016, far surpassing the total for all of the previous
year as fatalities related to heroin and fentanyl use increased sharply.

The state health department reported Thursday that the number of
overdose deaths for January through September climbed to 1,468, a 62aE
percent jump compared with the same period in 2015, and the sixth
straight year that the figure has risen.

The total for the first three quarters of 2016 exceeded the overall
sum for the previous year by nearly 17aE percent.

[photo]
Police in Harford County seized two kilos of heroin during a traffic stop
in Havre de Grace on Thursday, according to the Harford County Sheriff's
Office. A Virginia man faces multiple drug possession and distribution
charges. (Harford County Sheriff's Office / Baltimore Sun)

Police in Harford County seized two kilograms of heroin and arrested a
Portsmouth, Va., man on drug charges, during a traffic stop in Havre de
Grace, the Harford County Sheriff's Office said.

The investigation by the Harford County Task force that led to the arrest
of Servonte Rhamone Smith, 26, is continuing in an attempt to locate other
suspects in what detectives believe is a heroin trafficking organization
that has been operating in Harford County, according to a Sheriff's Office
news release.

The "kingpin" of drug trafficking organization was sentenced to 25 years
in prison, prosecutors say.

The "kingpin" of a drug trafficking organization that operated throughout
the Baltimore region was sentenced to more than two decades in prison on
drug-related charges in Baltimore County, authorities said.

Baltimore County Circuit Judge Robert Cahill, Jr. on Thursday sentenced
Charles Davenport, 29, to 40 years, with all but 25 years suspended, for
conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine, possession with the intent to
distribute heroin, and possession of large amounts of heroin, the Attorney
General's office said.

AltPharm, a Laurel-based medical marijuana dispensary, has received its
state pre-approval license to operate in the National Harbor area of
Prince George's County, opening as early as summer 2017.

AltPharm spokeswoman Martha Heil said the license will allow the company
to sell medical marijuana in state legislative District 26, which includes
Fort Washington, Oxon Hill and Accokeek.

The Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission approved preliminary licenses for
102 dispensaries statewide in November and revealed their selections on
Dec. 9. Ten of the dispensary licenses went to companies that already had
preliminary licenses to grow the drug.

One of the nation's largest pharmaceutical distributors has agreed to pay
$44 million to resolve federal claims that it did not report suspicious
orders of the prescription painkiller oxycodone from pharmacies in
Maryland, Florida and New York.

Dublin, Ohio-based Cardinal Health Inc.'s civil settlement is one of the
largest ever in a drug diversion case, according to the U.S. Department of
Justice.

The settlement comes as federal law enforcement works to curb a stubborn
opioid epidemic that was linked to almost 1,100 overdose deaths in
Maryland last year. More than 350 were linked directly to prescription
painkillers.

Medical marijuana could finally become a reality next year in
Maryland, one of the states slowest to make the drug available for
purchase after legalizing sales.

In 2016, regulators awarded long-awaited licenses to grow, process and
sell cannabis while grappling with fallout from those shut out of the
potentially lucrative industry. Now selected businesses are racing to
set up facilities and pass final inspections so the first seeds can be
planted and flowers can hit the shelves by the end of 2017, four years
after lawmakers legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Maryland patients are several months away from being able to legally
obtain medical cannabis to treat chronic conditions. But scammers are
already trying to make a buck off of patients desperate for the relief
they seek from the drug, according to regulators and industry officials.

There are reports that companies are selling "marijuana cards" or
offering exams to "preapprove" patients for medical cannabis.

Neither is a legitimate practice, officials say.

"They are telling patients that they have the ability to preapprove
them for the medical cannabis program, and that is a lie," said
Darrell Carrington, executive director of the Maryland Cannabis
Industry Association. "There is no such thing as preapproval."

Medical marijuana could finally become a reality next year in Maryland,
one of the states slowest to make the drug available for purchase after
legalizing sales.

In 2016, regulators awarded long-awaited licenses to grow, process and
sell cannabis while grappling with fallout from those shut out of the
potentially lucrative industry. Now selected businesses are racing to set
up facilities and pass final inspections so the first seeds can be planted
and flowers can hit the shelves by the end of 2017, four years after
lawmakers legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes.

[photo] County police have tracked the location of opiod overdoses and
fatalities in 2016. (Anne Arundel County Police Department)

Heroin overdoses reach new high in Annapolis, Anne Arundel.

With less than one month left in 2016, the number of people killed by
heroin and opioid overdoses in Annapolis and Anne Arundel has surpassed
that of the past two years combined.

County police Chief Timothy Altomare provided the latest overdose numbers
during a phone interview Friday morning. While Altomare touted County
Executive Steve Schuh's multifaceted approach to combating heroin by using
public health and educational resources in addition to law enforcement,
the police chief conceded that the drug continues to pose a significant
challenge in the county.

When the General Assembly legalized medical marijuana in Maryland, it
required the commission running the program to "actively seek to
achieve racial, ethnic, and geographic diversity when licensing
medical marijuana growers." But the attorney general's office advised
the commission that, absent a study documenting racial disparities in
the medical cannabis industry, creating racial and ethnic preferences
was unconstitutional. As a result, the regulations the commission
adopted make no mention of racial diversity.

Leaders of the state's medical marijuana commission are meeting with
Attorney General Brian E. Frosh next week to figure out how to
achieve more racial diversity when the panel awards licenses to
companies to dispense the drug.

The Medical Cannabis Commission has come under scrutiny because most
of the 30 companies to which it has awarded preliminary licenses to
grow or process marijuana are led by white men.

None of the companies that won lucrative licenses in the state's
fledgling industry are led by African-Americans. About a third of the
state's population is African-American.

Its frustrating to see our County Commissioners' behavior toward
Maryland's Medical Cannabis Program. They seem to be operating with a
Reefer Madness mentality, allowing their policymaking to be guided by
distress and superstition rather than established facts and evidence.
As a regulatory professional, I was fortunate enough to attend a
Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission meeting at Johns Hopkins last
year. One of the biggest takeaways for me was the seriousness and
professionalism with which the individuals involved in designing this
policy (almost all MDs and lawyers) treated the subject. This isn't
about Jeff Spicoli, 420, some gateway drug or the Grateful Dead. This
is about medicine, plain and simple. A much-needed, effective therapy
for helping our most vulnerable patients - folks with chronic
illnesses and terminal diseases including all forms of cancer,
Parkinson's, MS, epilepsy, etc. Who in our community hasn't felt the
impact of one of these devastating conditions?

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and Attorney General Brian E. Frosh (D)
have joined black state lawmakers in expressing dismay about the lack
of diversity in Maryland's burgeoning medical-marijuana industry.

At the same time, the head of the legislative black caucus is calling
for legislation to ban elected officials from taking jobs in the
industry. Del. Cheryl D. Glenn (D-Baltimore), who was instrumental in
passing the bill that legalized medical marijuana, said she's angry
that another leader in that effort later joined a company seeking a
license to grow, process and sell the drug, without publicly making
clear his dual roles.

The head of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland is asking the
governor to intervene in the awarding of medical cannabis licenses
because the selected companies lack diversity, denying minorities the
opportunity to get in on the ground floor of an emerging industry.

"I am completely disappointed with the medical marijuana commission
and the decision that they have made in terms of awarding licenses,"
said Del. Cheryl D. Glenn, chairwoman of the black caucus. "Clearly,
there was no effort at all to factor in minority participation and
make sure that it's inclusive of everybody in the state of Maryland."

Maryland set up its legal medical marijuana industry with hopes of
racial diversity and equity in the division of profits, but not one
of the 15 companies that were cleared this week for potentially
lucrative growing licenses is led by African Americans.

Some lawmakers and prospective minority-owned businesses say this is
unacceptable in a state where nearly a third of the population is
black, the most of any state with a comprehensive legal pot industry.
They say the lack of diversity is emblematic of how, across the
country, African Americans are disproportionately locked up when
marijuana use is criminalized but are shut out of the profits when
drug sales are legalized.

Most scientists don't include personal stories in their research
reports, but for John Lilly, personal experiences and science
experiments were the same thing.

His ears, eyes, mouth, and nose were calibrated probes.

His mind was the unbiased observer, the ideal model for dispassionate inquiry.

Knowledge and experience led him to new sets of questions, not firmly
held beliefs.

But as anyone who has traveled into the psychedelic spaces knows,
soon after arrival, one quickly finds out that the scientist's tool
kit-language-is much too small and inadequate for the job. The
scientist's reaction to the psychedelic experience is a set of
questions that sound more like a seeker's. This is the crux of the
enigma of John Lilly.

The small Western Maryland town of Hancock - population 1,545 - is
poised to be a part owner of a medical marijuana company after
winning a license to grow cannabis plants this week.

The town is in a unique partnership with an Arizona company that
plans to grow cannabis in a town-owned warehouse and share profits
with the Washington County town.

After Hancock suffered an exodus of about 1,000 jobs over the past
two decades, the cannabis industry could spark an economic turnaround
for the town and surrounding communities, said Mayor Daniel Murphy.

The state has awarded preliminary licenses to more than 20 companies
to grow and process marijuana in Maryland, a major step forward in
the effort to make medical cannabis available to patients in Maryland.

Licenses were awarded Monday to companies across the state, from
Washington County in Western Maryland to Worcester County on the
Eastern Shore. They plan to grow marijuana plants and turn them into
pills, oils, extracts and other products for patients suffering from
a range of illnesses.

Of the 15 companies cleared for cultivation, at least eight have ties
to marijuana industries in other states.

From page A1 Thirty businesses have won approval to grow and process
medical marijuana in Maryland, regulators announced Monday, putting
life into the industry more than three years after lawmakers
legalized the drug for medical use.

Several of the winning applicants have political ties - with major
donors or high-ranking officials on their teams - including a company
that hired the Maryland lawmaker who was the driving force behind the
tightly regulated program.

BALTIMORE - Today marks the day when Cecil County will find out
whether its future will be green, benefitting economically from the
development of potential medical marijuana growing and processing facilities.

The Natalie M. LaPrade Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission, under
the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, which was
formed by 2014 legislation to develop policies, procedures and
regulations to implement the state's medical marijuana program, voted
on its stage one license pre-approvals for 15 growers and the first
15 processors on Aug. 5.

When Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced her decision
to drop the remaining cases against the police officers charged in
the death of Freddie Gray, she spoke of fighting for reform and
equality in our justice system.

As a city public defender, I'd like to offer a few suggestions.

Continuing to pursue police misconduct is a given, particularly now
that a Justice Department inquiry has found that the Baltimore Police
Department "engages in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates
the United States Constitution and laws" and in "conduct that raises
serious concerns." But there are two other examples of injustice
occurring in courts on a regular basis: the inequities of the cash
bail system and the continuation of the war on drugs.

Parents of a young man who died of substance abuse urge others to
talk about addiction before they, too, face tragedy

Thank you to Amy Waldron for her letter ("Bringing addiction out of
the shadows," July 28) regarding the death of our son, Alex Hoehn,
from substance abuse.

Amy's comments were both accurate and poignant, "Addiction is killing
our young people at unprecedented rates. ... By bringing addiction
out of the shadows and showing the faces of the people we are losing
to this disease, we can continue to move forward toward breaking the
stigma of addiction." Her response touched our hearts and we felt
compelled to further share our story and the brutal effects of this
horrific drug epidemic.

It is unacceptable that a letter writer who identified himself as a
long-time addictions counselor would display such an inadequate and
limited knowledge of medication-assisted treatment for substance use
disorders ("Addiction can't be medicated away," July 25).

I am now in long-term recovery after having suffered with a substance
use disorder for most of my life. I have tried many types of
treatment, but what worked for me was a long-term,
medication-assisted treatment plan.

Through that, I realized that regardless of the treatment, if one is
seriously seeking recovery and positive change all approaches can work.